Culture

Beyond the festive imagery, some carols hint at rebellion and even revolution.

Esau McCaulley talks about growing up in Alabama, the racial divides of the past and present in the USA, what difference it makes to read the Bible through the lens of African-American experience.

Listen to a curated selection of recent Seen & Unseen articles. This episode: the moral algorithms of social media; stories of deep friendship, and Dungeons & Dragons' philosophical toolkit.

Some of the supposed solutions to the Israel – Hamas conflict, may not be the end of it. Graham Tomlin explores what’s on offer and the need for a newly imagined form of politics.

The cold currency of trading hostages repels George Pitcher, who explores the casual acceptance that some lives are biddable against lives of intrinsically higher value.

Photography risks cruelty in search of sensation. Andrew Davison contrasts such works with Dorothea Lange’s compassionate gaze.

An academic expert in AI, Ros Picard helps Justine and Belle explore the big questions around artificial intelligence. What does it mean for the future of humanity? And, how do we ensure that it doesn't dehumanise its creators?

Belle Tindall gave herself a deadline of two hours to articulate her first impressions of Witness Me - Jacob Collier’s latest single with Stormzy, Shawn Mendes and Kirk Franklin.

60 years after its author’s death, The Screwtape Letters image of hell as an unscrupulous business is still relevant. Simon Horobin tells how C.S. Lewis came to author the influential bestseller.

Listen to a curated selection of recent Seen & Unseen articles. This episode: the power of attention as evinced by Simone Weil; a look at Sir Paul McCartney's unseen portraits of the Beatles; and the grief at the death of Matthew Perry and unexpected twists in the story of real life.

Victorians welcomed the angel of death, rather than fearing it. Ian Bradley explores their changing attitudes towards death. Part of the How to Die Well series.

Justin and Belle talk to historian Suzannah Lipscomb about devoting her life to understanding the past, the way the British monarchy shaped Christendom, and how she puts faith and the tumultuous history of the church together.